Arizona silver belt., 1887-10-22
4 CHANGE IN THE ENByAN PouCy EM.
 PER1riyR.

Indians, telegraphed by Special Agont Howard to the Secretary Of the lntp- rior, and published in the press dis- patches of the 18th inst, showsa state of affairs at the Crow Agency, n Mon tana, somewhat similar to that which existed at various times on the San Carlos reservation, in our own Terri. tory, especially during General Crook $ incumbenGy aii Commander of the De- partnent of Arizona, and exhibits with electric vividness the humilia- hng impotency of the policy which the government of the United States has in the past pursued, and still stupidly maintains, in it's dealings with the Indian tribes resident of the Western Territories.
 Agent Towards report in spb- stance, states that at about five o'clock on the evening of the the 3oth of Sep tember, when the Agency employees were pursuing their usual agocations, unmindful of any threatening danger, suddenly a medicine man and fifteen other bucks, in full war paint, rode unto the Agency, and commenced a promlseuoas firing into the Agency baildings and by other defiant and in. solent actions sought to provoke resls, tance from the Agency officials, but the latter deeming it unwise, with a small police force, to attempt the arr rest of the insubordiuates, the Indians were not opposed and continued thelr violent demonstration through the night The trader refused them ann aaNnition and barricaded the doors and windows, when the Indians fired several volleys into the building.
 At 10 o'clock P. m two troops of cavalry arrived on the ground, but the officer in charge had no instructions to make arrests(D, and tho Indians pursued their deviitry, ignoring the presence of the troops, m fact openly dehed them and invited an attack The officer in command, however, wisely concluded not to accept the in- vitation, and the troops went into camp, leaving the Indians to continue their menacing riot The following morning two more troops arrived, when the Indian rebels reinforced and numbering sixty or seventy, took position on a neighboring hill and challenged the troops to combat, which t is needless to say was not accepted Later the rebels Disappeared, waiting the several villages on thereservatlon, and sowing disoord among the Iudlans These Indians have despoiled white settlers of their stock, and committed all sorts of dspredations without scarcely an effort having been made by the government to stop thetr theGts and punish them.
 The condition of affairs at the Agen. cy is alarming, but the Agent perenp- torily refused the protIer of troops unless they would undertake to arrest the offenders, giving as his reason, that soldiers were useless and their presence would tend only to excite the Indians. The government allotment surveys on the reservation were stopped by the Indians, and the sltua- tlon was at the time of the report (12th inst.) so grave that General sher- idau left Washington for the scene of the trouble.
 We presume, upon his arrival, he will dispose of the difficulty Gin his mind) before one could say Jack Rob- inson, and will report it is of no con sequence, as he did in 1884,. when he came out to Arlzona to investigated 2 the Apache outbreak, at the time when Crook was permitting the hos tiles in large numbers to murder white settlers and despoil ranches, without successful bindrance from the troops, and Sheridan, after being wined and dined by the "Gray Fox" at Fort Bowie, returned to Washiug- ton in his palace ear and, viewing the outbreak as triaing, reported that only eleven Indians were out, which even if true, should have impressed him as a grave situation in view of the many lives of citizens known to have been saerihced to the unsuitable appetite of the Apache cut-throats for blood.
 The policy of masslng Indians on reservations is admitted by those who have given the matter any study to be unwise, and even Bishop Huntington, ef the Indian Friends Society, has re- gently given expression to this con victlon, and has counseled his society to petition Congress to abolish the reservation system.
 And in the meantime, until this matter has been considered, it is im- perahye for tho peace Of the frontier that the Indians be disarmed. The vicious policy of permitting these re- cipients of government bounty to car ry arms is an outrage upon the people